


It's a trip!

by CaffeinaShips



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Implied Destiel - Freeform, Sam and Dean go on a road trip, Sam and Eileen sort of, post chuck apocalyse, there is no 15/20
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28860207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaffeinaShips/pseuds/CaffeinaShips
Summary: Sam and Dean go on a road trip to spend some time together without hunting or monsters.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 7
Collections: SPNColdestHits





	It's a trip!

**Author's Note:**

> Will there ever be a time that I write about anything other than fixing that shitshow of a last episode?

Sam woke from a doze in the passenger seat of Baby and peered out of the windshield across the parking lot to see Dean with his head under the hood of a car. At least it was a different car than when Sam had fallen asleep.

They were two weeks into their road trip to see the northern most point in Maine and had made it as far as New Hampshire. Each day they took turns picking a small time roadside attraction to stop at. Today was Dean’s day and Sam found himself at the Kancamagus Collectables and Car Museum. Usually Sam could find ways to entertain himself at Dean’s stops (and vice versa) but after an hour of Dean’s absolute fascination with every detail Sam had been bored. When Dean befriended the owner and sweet talked him into popping a hood for Dean to peek into Sam had decided to take a nap.

Sam’s choice for the next day was going to be the Desert of Maine. It should be cheesy enough to fit the bill but have some geology or local history to amuse Sam. The trip was going to take a little longer than it needed to because after driving through Lebanon NH (a pretty unremarkable lower economic outgrowth to support the higher economic nearby Hanover with it’s Dartmouth College) they were going to go out of their way to drive through Lebanon Maine, which was about an hour too far south. But when you have no agenda and you set your own schedule there’s no reason not to detour through two unnecessary Lebanon's just for your own amusement. 

Sam was relieved to see Dean peel away from the car that obviously fascinated him and head Sam’s way. Sam had expected him to hop into Baby cheerfully, but he slid into the driver’s seat with a thoughtful look on his face. They drove for a while in silence.

Sam’s phone buzzed and alerted him to a text. He opened it to find a selfie from Eileen sitting behind a pile of old looking books in a library Sam didn’t recognize. The text of the message simply read ‘Bored’. Sam smiled at it and put it away. 

It had been six months since Jack had restored humanity, returned Eileen, and brought Cas back from The Empty. Sam and Eileen had a second chance at that very important relationship question. It had been long, painful, but ultimately they had decided that though they love each other very much, they still wanted different things.

Eileen loved hunting, and was good at it. She was never going to retire as long as monsters were still killing people. Sam had spent his whole life imagining a life that didn’t include hunting, and for the first time in his life he felt like the world didn’t need him to be hunting. He was determined to make himself a quiet life. Eileen still used the bunker as something of a home base while she was in town, but she and Sam were keeping things casual. 

“These mountains sure are beautiful, eh Sammy” Dean glanced his way and smiled.

They had been commenting to each other about the scenery the whole trip. Sam glanced out the window and nodded. He wanted to comment on what might be living in those forests, but the ‘no monster talk’ rule had been his decision and he wasn’t going to go back on it now. Idly he wondered what the local lore was like for this part of the Appalachian. 

“You know”, Dean was trying to act like he was throwing out an off handed comment, but Sam could tell it was something important to Dean, “That car museum. The guy runs that place by himself. He just hangs out in his garage collecting car parts that interest him and fix up old cars. It’s not what most people would probably consider a normal life, but it sure beats a 9-5 job.”

“He certainly seems to have figured out something that would work for him”.

Dean glanced at him sideways. 

“That doesn’t sound like a good life to you?”

Sam cleared his throat and thought about it for a second.

“I don’t know Dean, it seems kind of boring to me. Just hanging around the same place, doing the same thing every day. It seems like it could be pretty… dull.”

“Huh. I thought that was what settling down was. Same place, same routine, same people. I thought that was what normal was.”

“I guess. Maybe it is. Maybe it looks different when it’s your people, your routine. Maybe it only looks dull to me because it isn’t my thing.”

“Maybe that’s why it looked so appealing to me. Because cars are my thing.”

Sam did a double take.

“Settling down looked good to you?!”

“I don’t know. Finding what you love and dedicating yourself to it. That used to sound like a daydream other people lied to themselves about, but now… I don’t know. Maybe I’m starting to get it. All this running from place to place we do; it’s cool Sammy, it is, but this trip… It’s got me thinking about where I want to be. It’s nothing against you Sammy, you know I love spending time with you, this trip has just felt a little…”

“Boring.”

The word slipped out of Sam’s mouth before he was aware of even having felt bored. But there it was, the truth. Sam had been bored. The lack of purpose, the lack of goal, the lack of adventure had made the days seem uncomfortably similar, and more than a little pointless. Every roadside stop Sam had found himself looking for clues of a haunting, or an abandoned deity on the property. He found himself hoping for a monster, and being disappointed when he remembered that wasn’t his job anymore. It was starting to get a little depressing. The brothers had always discussed driving somewhere just to drive, just for the fun of a trip, but now that they were doing it Sam found himself feeling an absence. He realized Dean had been feeling an absence too. Maybe of a different kind. 

“You know Dean we’re going to be in Maine pretty soon, that’s a pretty long trip, if you want to call it, go home early, head back and see Cas, we’d still have made a good trip of it.”

Dean shook his head.

“Nah, Sammy, we’ve come this far. Let’s see it through. But maybe we can go straight home and skip the landmarks on the way back.”

“That sounds like a good plan. I’d like that.” He looked at Dean who was still looking thoughtful. “I’m ready to go home, but I’m still really glad we did this.”

“Ok there Sammy, no need to have our chick flick moment. You know I love hanging out with you.”

“Who’s having the chick flick moment?”

“Shaddup”

“Jerk”

“Bitch”

Sam marveled as they drove on. Dean settling down. Looking for a routine and a place to be a home. Sam never would have guessed. But he was happy for Dean. Dean deserved a little corner of the world to pursue his interests, and be with the people he loved. But even as Sam pictured Dean and Cas happy together, getting a routine, maybe a hobby garage, Sam felt a little unsettled anxiety. It didn’t sound good to Sam. It didn’t sound satisfying. He was getting the creeping impression that maybe he wouldn’t be fulfilled in a white picket fence life. 

What a weird twist of fate it would be, he thought, if Dean settled into a normal life and he decided to keep hunting. Sam was glad for the next few days of driving to give him time to think.


End file.
